MISENHEIMER, N.C. -The Pfeiffer University women’s lacrosse team looks for its first NCAA Tournament win in school history as they travel to Lock Haven on Saturday afternoon for a quarterfinal matchup. The Falcons earned their second consecutive bid to the National Tournament and earned the No. 3 seed in the South Region thanks to a 13-win regular season.

Pfeiffer’s 13 wins on the season are the third-highest total in school history and mark the fifth time in the past six seasons that the Falcons have won 11 or more games. All four of Pfeiffer’s losses on the year have been to nationally ranked teams, with two coming at the hands of undefeated and nationally third ranked Limestone.

Most recently, Pfeiffer fell 16-8 at Limestone in the Conference Carolinas Championship game on April 26, giving the team 13 days in between that loss and their NCAA opener.

Pfeiffer is led by two-time Conference Carolinas Defender of the Year, senior Katherine Athens. Athens is Pfeiffer’s all-time leader in draw controls, ground balls and caused turnovers and currently leads all of Division II with 52 caused turnovers this season.

Offensively, the Falcons are paced by First Team All-Conference midfielder Ashleigh Kassab. Kassab has 44 goals on the season and has scored at least one goal in every game this season. The junior has 10 hat tricks on the year and has scored five goals in a game on two separate occasions.

In goal, Cassidy Wilson led the conference in save percentage at 54.4 and posted a 7.22 goals against average. Wilson, along with Kristi Korn, Sarah Daly, Athens and Britton Muir were named to the First Team All-Conference.

Lock Haven will enter the quarterfinal matchup on a 15 game winning streak and fresh off capturing both the PSAC Regular Season and Conference Tournament Titles. The Lady Eagles last defeat came on March 23 at Indiana (PA) by a final score of 11-9. In the team’s winning streak, they are outscoring opponents 223-75. Lock Haven went undefeated at home (11-0) during the 2014 season and are 24-2 at Charlotte E. Smith Stadium over the past three years.

The Lady Eagles, who last season fell in the Quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament to Rollins 11-10, are led by the PSAC Player of the Year, Jessica Pandolf. Pandolf ranks sixth in the nation with 70 goals scored, while teammate Chelsea Borrino’s 73 assists and 101 points place her second and sixth respectively in the nation.

Goals may be at a premium in this matchup as two of the top six defensive units in the nation square off. Lock Haven ranks second in Division II, allowing only 5.63 goals per game, ranking them behind national power and No. 1 team in the nation, Adelphi. Pfeiffer’s defensive unit ranks sixth in that nation with 6.94 goals allowed.

The last time these two teams met was on March 11, 2011 in Salem, VA. The No.3 Lady Eagles came away with an 18-6 victory.

The winner of the matchup advances to the National Semifinal next Saturday in Salem, VA. They will take on the winner of the No. 1 Limestone vs. No. 4 Lindenwood game.